Free University turns Airstream caravan into a classroom

by Ben Wilby
An organisation in Brighton that offers free courses has recently been using both a traditional caravan and a 1950s Airstream trailer to host them.
The group’s tagline is “education for love not money” and they are staying true to this ethos, relying on free spaces and volunteer teachers to ensure that people without the necessary finance still have access to education.
One of the key points of the charity is that learning can happen anywhere – even inside a caravan.
The Airstream trailer is one of many different places that are used and the company lists on their website where courses can happen with universities, public libraries, community centres, cafes and unused buildings among them.
Ali Ghanimi, a Green party activist, is the founder and explained that; “education is becoming harder to access for many due to cuts and increases in course fees. This is about reclaiming learning for our communities using the resources available to us.”
Alison Fisher, a former writer for EastEnders, is one of the many tutors who have offered their services and runs a script-writing course, though it only draws two regular students.
Noted philosopher Simon Glendinning has also been interested in the project and gave a free lecture at Sussex University on the ‘end of history’. With early successes such as this the group are urging more tutors to come forward, with the hope that this will become a serious alternative to typical universities.
With the recent increase in tuition fees, alternative courses have been growing in popularity, and the Free University Brighton is one of many different groups that have appeared across the UK offering different ways of learning.
The Social Science Centre in Lincoln, the Free University of Liverpool and the Really Open University in Leeds show that this scheme is becoming more popular – although sadly, none of these use caravans as a classrooms.
The university is having an official launch day in May and more details can be found on their official website.